The Believer's Proper Attitude Toward Trials

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."—James 1:2-4

- Chapter 1 of James tells the believer how to behave during trials.
-Verses 2 through 11 give us the proper attitude of the Christian toward suffering.
-Verses 12 through 18 stress the believer's proper attitude toward God during the times of suffering.

The Scripture says we are to "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." The trials that come into a believer's life are perfectly matched for that particular individual to bring out in him what God desires. He knows what He's trying to accomplish.

It's easy to count some trials as joy; but when other trials come, they are much more difficult to accept.
But no matter what the trial, the believer must always count it joy.

The idea is to prove your faith, purify your faith, to make it quality faith. It's like putting gold into the fire to refine it to get rid of the dross.

The trying of your faith worketh perseverance or endurance. When trials come, it's easy to cry out to God and say, "I cannot endure any more." The human thing is to want to get out of the fire. But we're to let patience have her perfect work.

There are two things God is accomplishing with our trials. First is our perfection. Not sinless perfection, but maturity. God wants every believer to be mature. Second is for Christians to be complete. The purpose of trials is that we be perfect and complete.

—from the booklet 'Responding Properly to Trials' by Dr. Curtis Hutson